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Cape Petrel (Daption capense) Alternate name(s): "Pintado Petrel", "Cape Fulmar"; misnomer: "Cape Pigeon" Size: 35-40 cm; wing span 80-90 cm Weight: 350-550 g

Australia: Family Group 3 Family Group 3 table Southern Fulmar Antarctic Petrel Cape Petrel Black-winged Petrel Providence Petrel Kermadec Petrel Soft-plumaged Petrel Tahiti Petrel Buller's Shearwater Wedge-tailed Shearwater Flesh-footed Shearwater Short-tailed Shearwater Fluttering Shearwater Hutton's Shearwater Little Shearwater Antarctic Prion Slender-billed Prion Fairy Prion Southern Giant-Petrel Northern Giant-Petrel Light-mantled Albatross Wandering Albatross Black-browed Albatross Campbell Albatross Buller's Albatross Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross Shy Albatross Wilson's Storm-Petrel New Zealand Storm-Petrel White-faced Storm-Petrel Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Cape Petrels are mid-size seabirds with a white front and black back. The head, neck, bill, eyes, legs, feet and tip of the tail are black, while throat, breast, belly, vent and part of the tail are white. The upperwings, rump and mantle are mottled black-and-white.

Taxonomy, classification See Cape Petrel at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Cape Petrel is available HERE . There are two races of Cape Petrels, both of which are found in the open sea of the Southern Ocean and the southern parts of the continents on the southern hemisphere, most prominently South America and New Zealand. In Australia Cape Petrels can reach coastal waters and the southern coastline anywhere from about Fraser Island, QLD, to Exmouth, WA. Cape Petrels breed on many antarctic and subantarctic islands.

Sightings Click here for sighting information B. Hensen reports spotting Cape Petrels on the Windmill Islands, Antarctica, in December 1993. M. Mearns reports spotting Cape Petrels above the Southern Ocean, between Australia and Antarctica, in January 2005.

Photos

ADULT

Near-frontal view of a Cape Petrel in flight (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Southern Ocean, January 2005]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

View from above onto a group of three Cape Petrels in flight; the bird at the centre, with shorter primaries, may be a juvenile (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Southern Ocean, January 2005]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Nov - Mar

Eggs: 1

Incubation period: 45 days

Fledging age: ca. 55 days

Nest building: ?

Incubation: Female & male

Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

"bungobittah", "malunna" = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Rock crevice or bowl

Material: Pebbles

Height above ground: N/A

Cape Petrels nest in smaller colonies than other species of petrels. The nests are usually less than 1 km from the coast. If not built under overhanging rocks or in crevices, nearby rocks on flat ground are used for partial protection.

Pair of Cape Petrels defending its nest against a neighbour or intruder (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Windmill Islands, Antarctica, December 1993]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 72 x 52 mm

Colour: White

Shape: Long tapered oval

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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